INDIAN CAPTAIN VIRAT KOHLI'S DUCK WAS A STATISTICAL ANOMALY ON SEVERAL FRONTS:
* He had never been dismissed without scoring in a home Test * He had played 104 consecutive innings (across all three formats) for India since 2014 without falling for a duck
* Since his most-recent Test duck in 2014, Kohli had scored 10 centuries (four of them double tons) and averaged 63.95 from 26 matches
WHY DID IT MATTER SO MUCH?:
* Kohli is India's batting linchpin. He was widely tipped to be the key wicket of the series, having played a crucial role in the hosts' 19-Test undefeated streak
* During the most-recent series between the sides, played in Australia during 2014-15, Kohli scored 692 runs. He broke the record for an Indian batsman in a Border-Gavaskar trophy battle
* India were 3-44 and, for the first time in a home summer that started in September and is into its 10th Test, under genuine pressure
WAS MITCHELL STARC THE MAN MOST LIKELY TO DISMISS KOHLI?:
* The pitch was so dry that selectors mulled dropping Josh Hazlewood, so spinners were widely expected to take most of the wickets in the match
* Kohli identified Starc as Australia's most-potent bowler in his pre-match media conference, going so far as to say cricketers around the world should "admire" his former IPL teammates's improvement in recent years
* Starc was one of few Australians to escape from last year's 3-0 series loss in Sri Lanka with their subcontinent reputation enhanced, grabbing 24 wickets at 15.16
Share
